Greene to captain Britain at London Games

09 Jul 2012 16:16:54

World 400 metres hurdles champion Dai Greene was selected on Monday to captain Great Britain's athletics team at the Olympics.

The 26-year-old is one of Team GB's best hopes for gold on the track as he looks to add the Olympic title to his world, European and Commonwealth crowns.

"It is an incredible privilege to be asked to captain the British athletics team at any time, but to be given the honour at a home Olympic Games is just incredible," said the Welshman.

Greene, who was chosen ahead of the likes of Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah, will captain a 78-strong team.

The choice also ensured there would be no repeat of the 'Plastic Brits' controversy which overshadowed the World Indoor Championships in March when United States-born 100m hurdler Tiffany Porter was named team captain.

Porter was asked at the pre-championships press conference to recite the first verse of 'God Save the Queen', but declined, insisting she did know it.

Greene captained the team last year at the European Team Championships in Sweden.

"We have a great team spirit in the camp, which will make giving my speech much easier," said the former Swansea youth team footballer.

"I think our team is one of the strongest in history and I believe that we can go out and do Britain proud and I intend to lead by example."

UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee said: "Dai was a stand out candidate for the London 2012 captaincy. He is a very professional athlete who is both liked and respected by the rest of the team.

"He knows what it takes to win at the highest level and that is a valuable experience to share with the team.

"I know we can also rely on Dai to inspire his team-mates and I wouldn't be surprised if he raised a few laughs during his speech along the way."

Greene won the European and Commonwealth crowns in 2010 and claimed the World Championship gold in Daegu last summer.

He cast aside any doubts about his fitness after a knee operation over the winter with a personal best at the Diamond League meeting in Paris last Friday, to finish second to this season's world number one Javier Culson.